jerks

But NPR is rad, and so is this piece. It taught me many things, including that people down south use Spam in their rellenos. Also, that there’s a law in effect that protects New Mexico’s favorite fruit. The New Mexico Chile Advertising Act was signed in the spring. It prevents jerks who are not in the state from labeling their dumb “chili” as being grown in New Mexico. Jerks.

According to the New Mexico Chile Association, our industry is not doing so hot. No pun intended. China is trying to horn in on some of the chile market, the association says.

The New York Times did an article on the chile law back in February, too. We’re so famous. And not just for meth.

Led Zeppelin: Best cover band ever

Over the horn two weeks ago I was chatting with my Mom, who lives in Louisiana near the Mississippi River delta, about impending floods. They are/were predicted to be more massive than the epic 1927 flood, when her grandfather and others living in the delta had to take boats from town to town. This got me thinking about “When the Levee Breaks” as performed by Led Zeppelin—the band must have taken that song from an American blues artist who wrote the song about the flood. Last week—while driving through Mississippi on my way to Natchez, no less—I recalled this thought when Led Zeppelin’s song came on the radio. With a little iPhone research, I discovered that sure enough, the original song, which lies in the public domain, was written by husband and wife Kansas Joe Slim and Memphis Minnie in 1929. Led Zeppelin has a copyright on its version. At right you can play the original song. See if you think Led Zeppelin should take credit for it. Also embedded is a video exhibiting other examples of the band’s covers.